A Lesson on "What not to do" from the Rev. Fordwick

One of my favorite episodes of "The Waltons" (ohhh! I hear groaning from my blaudience!! Come on, you really should give John Boy and the gang a try!) is from Season 1, when the Rev. Fordwick (played by John Ritter...before the days of Jack Tripper) comes for a visit to Walton's Mountain. He has just graduated from "divinity school," and is set to do his first revival right next to Ike Godsey's store. He is a "hell, fire, and brimstone" kind of speaker, based on the modeling of his teachers during his training. He sees himself above everyone else, and uses scripture to verbally rebuke anyone who might come against it. This rubs John Walton Sr. the wrong way, as he isn't sure how he feels about God in the first place. He observes the Rev. condemning the daily actions of his family, going even so far as to yell his future Sunday sermon at the Walton kids. The Rev. loves to throw the word "Repent" around at people. He thinks every one needs to repent, and is proud of himself, because the word apparently doesn't apply to him. That is, until he mistakenly drinks too much of the Baldwin sisters' "Recipe." Oh, I love that part!!!

We have been spending some time at NewLife talking about repentance. Sometimes the very word can make people cringe....but lately, I have come to have a new appreciation for it. I think repentance has to do with brokenness, a new awakening, a fresh understanding. Repentance feels good...once you get there. There is only one thing it lacks.... an insurance policy with a clause that says, "If you truly repent over something in your life, you will be guaranteed to never do it again." Oh, how I wish that were true!!! Because at the moment I am repenting over my life struggles with pride. And I long to have humility be a deep discipline in my life. I want God to ensure me, that if I go to Him with this, and confess it to Him, it will be forever gone. As if to say, "I recognize it, God. I know it's there. Could You get rid of it, so I never see it in myself again?" Which brings me to this question.....if God would promise to forever remove a stumbling block in your life, something you are so "sick and tired of" within yourself, what would it be?

Based upon the book......

Long before I had my own blog, I just tormented people verbally with my thoughts, instead of writing them. :) Back in 2005, you may remember me raving about a "little known" book entitled "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. I really loved it, and as "cutting edge" as I like to be with my reading, I may have been a little bit behind the trend, as the book was already two years old when I read it.

It is difficult to describe what "Blue Like Jazz" is about. In its most simplistic form, it is about a man's journey to find God outside of man made religious boundaries. But it is deep (not Ravi Zacharias deep) and conversational. Donald Miller is a great storyteller, and has the ability to make you enjoy the people in his life as much as he does. But he also has a personality in words that might rub some the wrong way. Most people have thoroughly enjoyed the book. I haven't heard many that haven't.

Strangely enough, I just learned that they are going to make a movie out of "BLJ." Having read the book, I couldn't imagine how they were going to do that. Then I came upon this tidbit of information regarding the screenplay of the movie, and then it began to make sense:

Steve Taylor (Director of the movie): It's about a 20-year-old from Houston who has basically grown up in church and is confused, disillusioned, and kind of at the place most college sophomores are. He decides to flee his upbringing and go to this school—Reed College—that he perceives as being the most opposite of where he's grown up in his life. I don't want to give away a lot, but essentially, the fictional "Don" character lives a lot of the experiences that Donald Miller writes and talks about in his book. The "Don" character is a lot different, but we thought that was the most interesting way to portray this experience.

Donald Miller: It's a movie about coming out of the closet regarding who you are as a person. The character happens to be a Christian and is very ashamed of that, but he's able to come out of the closet by the end of it. It's really a film more about a human being than it is about Christianity. Christianity is really just the thing that this human being is dealing with.

Now this is something I've gotta see!!!!!

PS- Donald Miller's next book is coming out in September 2009. Apparently, it is fiction. Interesting.....

PPS- In case you are wondering, the chairs passed inspection by Husband #1. Yippee! Now you can sleep... :)

The View from my Window

People sometimes ask me if I get "creeped out" living across the street from a cemetery. I really don't. Husband #1 thinks it is a very convenient location for us. After all the moving we did in our early years of marriage, he sees us just simply making our last move across the street, to meet our final "resting place." He is just still that tired of moving, I guess.

The cemetery has lots of activity throughout the day.....sometimes we witness someone's burial....sometimes we are privy to someone honoring a dear one's life by visiting their tombstone. Last Sunday afternoon, I went in the living room to fluff up the pillows on the couch. (I am first born, and everything must have its place, even the stuffing in the pillows.) As I was straightening, I looked out the window and noticed a man standing alone in the cemetery. He was a tall, thin elderly man, with a hat on. I instantly felt sadness for him as I saw his gaze focusing downward, as if trying to connect with whomever he was there to "see." I could imagine him tracing the letters on the marker of his loved one with his eyes. I wanted so desperately to go out there and talk with him. I wanted to minister to his wounds of loss, and have him share with me who his beloved was, and how much he/she meant to him. I would ask him questions, so he could joyfully paint a picture of this person who was so important to him. Maybe it was his precious wife, maybe it was a son, a daughter, or a brother who had been gone from his life for some time. Whomever this person was, his love for them prompted him to take time out of his day to honor them.....remember them. I wanted to just simply walk up beside him, and put my arm around him and say nothing. I wish we lived in a world where we could be free to do that. Where the gift bearer and the gift receiver would be in an unspoken accord with one another.

I never did go across the street. I didn't even stand there watching him for too long, because I felt like I might be "eyes-dropping" on a tender moment for him. I just silently hoped that the person whom he was coming to honor knew their Saviour. And I hoped he did too.

Living across the street from a cemetery is not weird for me because it is always a constant reminder for me of the Eternal. That this isn't ALL there is. I am realizing all the more how temporal this life is.....this body is....and it makes me want to focus all the more on glorifying God with the days He has given me. How precious life is!!! But how even more wonderful Heaven will be!!

One Woman's Junk

My mom never raised me to go "garbage picking." We never went to garage sales growing up...we just had them. I had never heard of such things as "thrift stores" until I was a married woman. I don't want to sound as if I grew up "privileged" in the area of possessions (privileged in other areas, of course), but we just weren't part of the "second hand" culture back then. But I can't imagine not being a part of it now. Garage Sale Season (don't get this mixed up with Hunting Season) is just around the corner. The rummage blinders are now off, and I can see the salvage light.

Yesterday, on my way to pick up the girls from school, I witnessed my first "along the roadside" find of 2008. It has been a while since I have skidded to the side of the road and grabbed a treasure waiting for an unappreciative garbage man. You never know if the find is really a "true find" until you see it close up. (If you are a fellow garbage picker, you know what I am talking about. )A feeling of defeat wells up in you when you realize "the treasure's" real beauty was only in the eyes of its former beholder. But yesterday, I struck GOLD....at least I think I did. I will have to see what Husband #1 says, because he will give the final say as to whether its a keeper or not. I haven't even mentioned it to him yet, because I had to clean them up....make them presentable for him. I have them strategically placed in the garage for him when he gets home from work.....polished with Pledge and some much required English Oil. I will let you know what he says. I know you will be cheering these treasures on!!!!!

PS- Mii's arm is very sore from playing too much tennis. I can barely blog. :)

Wii might....Wii might not

In the spirit of April Fool's Day, I would like to propose this story to you. Today, after months and months of Walmart stalking, "wii" finally got our "wii." Or maybe "wii" didn't. It is the first of April, after all. I may be fabricating the whole thing. Yet, I couldn't believe it when I asked my good Walmart friend in Electronics if they had any in. When hii nonchalantly replied, "Yes, wii have 6," I asked him to pinch mii. Hii must have been afraid of a potential lawsuit because hii didn't oblige. Hii just walked away, leaving mii to pier through the glass case, searching the shelves to see if hii was really telling mii the truth. Maybe hii was, maybe hii wasn't.

A little news we would like to share.....

Gregg and I would like to announce that we are expecting..........










expecting to celebrate "April Fool's Day" in some strange, fun way today! Enjoy!

Yippee! I've found one!

I love to read, but I am a picky reader. (I am also a picky eater...but that is for another post.) My favorite author, Angela Hunt, hasn't come out with anything in a while that I have been really interested in. Her new book, The Face, is due out in August, but obviously that is a while down the road. I also love Francine Rivers, but she sometimes writes in a genre (Historical Bible Fiction....sounds strange, doesn't it?) that I am not really in to. So....based on my "picky-ness," I have really limited myself lately to whom I will read. But, I am here to announce that my literary drought is now over. I have found a new author, and I am sooooo excited.

It has been so long since I have picked up a Christian fiction book that I cannot put down. (Oh, wait a minute... I might be exaggerating. There was that little book called "The Shack" that made quite an impression on me a few months ago.) I have had so much fun with "Scoop" by Rene Gutteridge (a story about a dysfunctional TV News Station). I look forward to moments during the day when I can take a break and read a few pages of it. This is the first book in her "Occupational Hazards" series. She is so funny and I have NEVER read anything like her before. I cannot even tell you what genre she tends to write in, because she might be the "one and only" in her niche. Not only do I love her humor, but she hails from one of my favorite places on earth, Oklahoma City (birthplace of the Hestergirls, you know). I have already reserved "Snitch" from the library, which continues in the "Occupational Hazards" series. I am thrilled to have something new to read!!!

So....does "Scoop" hold up to the Hestermomma Money Back Guarantee when it comes to recommending a book? I think it should, but I don't know. You have to have a certain sense of humor to appreciate it. My humor apparently is a little strange, because my husband always tells me that nobody finds me as funny as I do. :) Give it a try...let me know what you think.